Rejected by Thousand Trails

April 6 - 19,
Verde Valley near Cottonwood


There was some concern in our hearts as we headed north to Verde Valley Thousand Trails.  We tried on Thousand Trails website to get a reservation and failed.  This was nothing new so we called their reservation line and was told they had quite a few sites down with electrical problems and there was nothing available for the two weeks we wanted to stay.  Next call was to the young lady who sold us our Zone Passes and has magically found space for us when all else failed.  She said she would work on it and get back to us.  She never did…

So we approached their gate and set about checking in.  There was no reservation listed for us and we were too long for a tent site.  He sent us to the manager to see what could be done.  He found a place for us for three days, in three days.  He told us we could stay in the office parking lot until then, but would have to move in the morning as they were fixing the parking lot.  I asked about boondocking spots…   The office parking lot was it.  When we purchased our membership we were told if all the sites were full at any campground there would be boondocking available.  I just didn't know it would be the office parking lot.  We exited Thousand Trails and drove back to some BLM land Ellen had previously found. OK rant finished…   or maybe I'll continue it later.

Our morning visitor for several days on BLM land.

The place Ellen found was wonderful and scenic.  On a bluff overlook the valley.  We set up and looked for something fun to do.  "used Bookstore near me" Google sent us into oldtown Cottonwood. (5.6 miles)  Charming.  It had nothing we couldn't live without, but the people were very friendly.  We walked the street and window shopped.  Nice little town.

Tuzigoot

Montezuma's Castle

During our stay we visited several National Monuments, Montezuma's Castle and Well (along with about forty fourth graders on a field trip),  and Tuzigoot.  There were more as the area has a rich history.  Drove to Prescott and saw the Sharlott Hall Museum. Not to be missed.  There might have been a pub with libations and appetizers.  Ice Cream might have been had.  The usual fun.  On the way back we drove through Jerome.  Town on the side of a hill.  Or should I say cliff?  The views (and switchback down grade) were amazing.  We also took the Verde Valley Train on a sight seeing trip.  Well worth the high price.  One delightful aspect of the trip was the background music in the railcar.  Every train song imaginable.  When they got to "Peace Train" folks sang along.

Next we went to Sedona which is a tourist town set in the most amazing venue ever.  Surrounded with red monolithic hills on every side.  I don't know how long it takes residents to become numb to the awesome surroundings and just think of it as home.  We went on a few (easier) hikes in the area but we were able to take great pictures just driving around!

A comment on the drive to Sedona…  Approached from the south you venture through red cliffs and desert views, from the north you get forest, creeks, and  great canyon descents.  We loved both, one is majestic and awe inspiring for me, the other reminded me of home,  the great Northwest.  We stopped at picnic areas and I walked in the creek. "Insert smile here."

Hike in the canyon

Different canyon hike

Speaks for itself...

Ellen finished and filed our taxes (life must continue), I changed the oil in the motorhome, and we did laundry.  I'm going to digress into Thousand Trails again as we did spend our three days there, were ousted, and returned to our hilltop BLM spot.  We go there for hookups, trash dumping, and laundry facilities.  The parking is side by side and the views are of other RVs. Not our favorite.  But you get the good with the bad.  The good, we emptied our tanks and refilled our water, we watched some TV, we went to their karaoke night.  The bad, the view, very limited Verizon coverage, and the Laundry facilities.  You have to get a two dollar card from them and add money to it to use their machines. I drove into Cottonwood and used the laundromat.

View from south bound road to Sedona.  That is the road 1000 feet below!

This one also says it all.

From here we head to the Grand Canyon.

Go Forth (north!)

April 1 Ramsey Mine Road, BLM Brenda AZ
April 2 Escapees North Ranch, Congress AZ
April 3 - 6 Lake Pleasant Regional Park, AZ

Yeah!  We're finally in new territory again - places we haven't seen yet!  After spending a few weeks in LA and Palm Springs and Joshua Tree which we'd seen last time we were through the area, we headed for our northern loop - generally heading home and equally important we hope to get to cooler weather!  So far we're not into the mid-80's weather.  We prefer under 80 (at least that's up from around 70 which is still preferred!).

Pictures never seem to capture the grandeur!  That teeny tiny
cactus and monolith way in the distance were very striking!
Ramsey Mine Road BLM

Our first stop was more BLM land on Ramsey Mine Road which is near Brenda, AZ (you recognize that right?)!  We planned to stay two nights here and it was very beautiful, peaceful and for the first time fairly isolated of other overnighters.   We had a little bit of odd traffic on the road (things that make you uncomfortable but probably just in our heads).  Added to that we had an overwhelming electrical burn smell that was reminiscent of our Trimetric monitor burning up so of course that raised the anxiety level a bit!  We came to the conclusion that it was coming from somewhere outside but we sure couldn't pinpoint it or be sure.  So we decided moving on would help us determine if it's us or the air outside (after moving on, so far so good - no smell!).

Pulling onto the scales at Escapees North Ranch to get weighed!

We were excited to head to our first Escapees park at North Ranch (near Congress, AZ) so we could do a 4 corner weigh on the coach (our first one!).  We wanted to make sure we weren't overweight on any one corner (we knew we weren't over all) and get a benchmark for future remodels (more solar, replace booth with a buffet and table/chairs, replace couch with recliner etc.).  We were pleased with the results for the most part but we were pretty much right on top of the max on the driver front side.  So we moved a 40 lb footstool (that has paperwork, maps, brochure type stuff in it) to the passenger side so as we drive and that should balance us a bit more.  We basically  learned that our solar did not put us over the top in the front and might have helped balance our weight to the passenger side a bit more.  Unfortunately propane was filled to half and it's on the driver front so we really have no room to add more weight there.  Not sure what we'll do but now we know!

Our spot at Lake Pleasant right by the water.  After seeing the
neighbors hammock, we decided to get one too!

We scouted out a place to go next and we consulted the folks on the forums about heading to Cottonwood from Congress and we were told we wouldn't like it if we went the more direct route on 89A (and after seeing parts of that route - we are in total agreement!).  So we went south a little to get to I17 and saw there was a lake on the way and we really like water!  So we stayed 3 nights at Lake Pleasant Regional park (no hookups $20/night).  We were greeted by a rattle snake (we think that's what it was but it didn't rattle(?)).  We were facing an inlet portion of the lake with lots of bushes and trees and cacti which is totally weird to us (by a lake!).

Enjoyed bike rides, hikes, and the usual side trips there at the lake.  One thing we were disappointed in is we wanted to have lunch at the local BBQ and brews at the lake but it annoyed us to pay $6 to park to even check it out to see if we wanted to have lunch there.  So we went to Peoria instead!

Another selfie capturing cacti on our hike!

Isn't this so peaceful?  Sunrise on the water at Lake Pleasant.

Battery update:  We can't believe how much power the fridge wants to use between sundown and ? (not sure when it finally calms down).  We use about 10 amps per hour in the evening (most due to the fridge) and over 75 AH (amp hours) overnight!  We did leave the dish on so it could record but didn't use the TV other than to verify DISH and guide set up.  We think we only have around 100 AH available before it reaches 50% (the safe level) because these batteries have been ruined (don't have the capacity they are rated at).  But we decided to keep using these batteries as we continue to learn how to manage them better and to continue to understand our power needs through all the seasons and places (like shady NW!).  If you've been following this blog, you know we've gone back and forth on that!

Finally a brewery!!  That's an amber and coffee stout.  mmm...

Highlights:  4 corner weigh, Lake Pleasant 

Lowlights:  Electrical burn scare

Things we've learned:  We want an anemometer (measures wind speed).  We have had so much wind and we're always curious how hard its blowing so we can get a sense of what 10 mph feels like vs. 20, 30 etc.

Lake Havasu City - Battery Woes Continued!

Lake Havasu City, AZ
Jan 26 - Feb 7th, 2017

First of all, I am so happy that I can type again.  My cast hand really hurts - not where it was broken but where it was confined for so long.  Fingers, thumb, wrist are all protesting as I try to move them!  But exercising them is good right?  So here I go...

One of the places we stayed (for free!) near Lake Havasu City

We were in the Lake Havasu area from 1/26 and left on 2/7 and stayed 4 different places (not normally what'd we'd choose!)!!  First we stayed at BLM land south of Lake Havasu city.   Met some vloggers and folks we follow on Instagram which is super cool.  Met the neighbors across the road from us and enjoyed a walk and visit.  But we left there after a couple of nights to stay in town at an RV park while we had our batteries removed and tested.


We have been experiencing low voltage overnight since we started boondocking at Joshua Tree National Park but our Trimetric battery monitor indicated that we have never been close to 50% discharged.  We were told by a battery guy in Quartzsite that it's either a bad battery OR it's just not getting fully charged (even though our trimetric says it is AND we had been plugged in for 3 days prior to QZ).  So to make sure they were fully charged, we stayed at an RV park where we could be plugged in and paid $20 to have each battery charged.  At the end of the day, they told us our batteries were bad.

So we called Newmar who put us in touch with Interstate batteries who told us we should have come to them in the first place - they would have charged and tested them for free.  So before we left the RV park, we pulled the batteries again and had them look at them.  They "tested" the fully charged batteries and told us they are good and they told us the hydrometer only tells you if all the cells are equal (no bad cells) but it won't tell you if they are charged.  The battery guy we met in Quartzsite had convinced us to purchase a hydrometer as the only way to tell if your batteries are fully charged (as well as see if any cell is bad).  Arghhh!

Arrow in the "red" zone.  Red means bad :(

Basically, the hydrometer has never been in the "good" or very good zone even after the full charge (but according to Intersate the battery is good).   At this point since we are at the mercy of Interstate (who has the power to exchange it for a good battery) we decide we will try again and see if the battery holds it voltage now that it's fully charged (again).

So we hooked up the batteries and unfortunately caught the control wires for the Trimetric on the positive cable and burned up the Trimetric (so no monitoring of the batteries!).  Found a source for a new Trimetric who sent it to general delivery (arrived the next day!!).  For the rest of the time at Lake Havasu (after replacing the Trimetric) - we monitored amps and state of charge and volts.  It is definitely better (dropping no further than 12.0 (under load) vs. the 11.7 we had been experiencing.  However, according to the Trimetric we aren't anywhere near the 50% so we are back to where we started - the Trimetric doesn't show us using near 50% (the most we show we'd been down is 70 AH and we should have 168 AH which is 4 batteries at 84 amps each at 50%).  But the volts are low (although it's not an accurate indicator "under load").

So we decided that when we get to Las Vegas, we will fully charge the batteries and do a hydrometer test, then let it rest then do it again.  If  either reading is bad, we will try Interstate battery in Las Vegas.

Testing tilting our solar panels to bring in more power!

BUT back to Lake Havasu!   We stayed north of the city on BLM land until we got an appointment to have the bay door unstuck (first mentioned in our Free Camping  post on 1/14/17).  After getting the door open, we decided to settle south of Lake Havasu again (slightly different spot) so we would be closer to our friends from home who were in Big River.  We got to go to their church with them twice and of course the obligatory meal afterwards!  We would have watched the super bowl with them but it started quite late in the day and it would be a long drive in the dark.  It was a sad game to watch since we were rooting for Atlanta!  Oh, and we also loved joining them for Friday night karaoke!

One of our hikes

We enjoyed walking along the lake (and good eats!) near London Bridge, short hikes, sunrises and sunsets, bike rides etc. while we continued to learn and monitor the solar panels and testing tilting them.   We also got mail from home which should be all the final tax stuff (oh boy!).

Highlights: Visiting with our friends from home!

Lowlights:  Ongoing battery battle (but we don't want to replace these until we figure out what went wrong  and until we know how to manage batteries (and wear these out) so we don't ruin another set!).

Things we learned:  secure wires away from the battery(!), the furnace uses a lot of battery (most boondockers use indoor propane heaters of some kind),

We haven't been able to sample
many micro brews yet - so far a
serious shortage in most of the
areas we've been so far!

Things we're wondering:    How much battery do we really need and why we can't seem to manage batteries successfully?!  Will the sun be able to fully charge whatever batteries we end up with or will we need more solar panels?  Will the NW sun (and trees) even work for us or does it matter if we stay primarily at Thousand Trails with hookups when in the NW?

One of the reasons we love wide open free BLM camping!

Quartzsite AZ experience

January 15 - 28

BLM Land
Quartzsite, AZ

We left Ehrenberg for our trip to Quartzsite,  Ellen leading in the car to scout out our spot in the desert and I in the RV to pick up propane and follow.  We were meeting a group of Escapee club members off Plomosa road north of town.  They would be there for the week. This chapter was from the northwest so we could meet folks from home for campfires, fulltimer advice and food.  Ellen found us a spot with a wonderful mountain view and not too many large rocks in our path.

We actually connected with three other groups while in Quartzsite.  Boondockers (name says it all), Boomers (folks our age), and the Newmar owners group.  All fun folks.  We visited the Newmar group a couple of times for fulltimer roundtable discussions.

While in Quartzsite we browsed the tents (insert flea market atmosphere here) and picked up some small Rv-ish things.  The most important of which was Kettle Corn.

Around the campfire we discussed RV solar with folks.  We had been running our generator morning and evening to keep our batteries charged.  Solar might not be economically the best choice but we were enjoying being off grid and it would bring peace of mind. Not having to hang around to run your generator morning and night is just a byproduct we would have to live with.  You still have to run it on cloudy and rainy days.

Everyone seemed to agree that if you weren't going to AM Solar in Oregon, then you should check out Discount Solar in Quartzsite.  I think we might have driven them crazy with questions over the next week.

Saturday we took the plunge and dropped off the RV at 9am.  We got it back at 4:30 with four shiny new solar panels on the roof and a solar controller under our fridge.  We were fully charged.  The batteries too.  We were still seeing lower than expected battery voltage in the morning, so we started to worry about our batteries.  But that's a story for later.


The BIG TENT opened.  We went at opening to beat the crowds.  We were unsuccessful.  We once again picked up a few things to make life easier in the RV.  Also visited the "Too Crazy Ladies" to have our Escapees name tags made.  Mine was great, Ellen's got messed up so another visit was in order.  Eventually with smiles on our faces and tags in hand we left.



We drove back to Palm Springs one day for Ellen's cast removal day.  Cast gone and a new brace in place for another three weeks.  I'm still seeing dish washing in my future. It's amazing how going back to Palm Springs felt like going home.  It was beautiful though.  Palm trees in the foreground and snow on the mountains in the background.

We also took a trip north to Big River California to see some good friends from home.  They took us on a hike on the Colorado river in the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge and we took them to the Pirates Den.  Both were great.  But being with friends is the best.

Next…   north to Lake Havasu City.